It looks like you're using an old web browser that we no longer support, so some parts of the site may not work as well as they should and you won't be able to make a booking. Please update your browser (view more details) to make sure you get the best experience.

We're sorry, earlier versions of Internet Explorer have become too unsafe to use, and we can not allow them access to the secure part of our website. We highly recommend switching to a much more secure & modern browser such as the latest versions of any of the following, Opera, Safari (Apple users), Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer (11 or above).

We've noticed that you're using an older version of a web browser. Your current browser won't work with any of the secure areas of our website - including logging into the member area and, if you're booking a place on Canopy and Stars, the online booking feature. This is due to a security bug in older web browsers.

The good news is that it's quick and easy to start using a web browser that will work on all websites, including ours. You can either update your current web browser to the latest version, or you could use an alternative browser. You can download one of the following browsers free of charge:

NATUREWORKS: CREATIVITY BREAKS

At Canopy & Stars we’ve been using our special outdoor places for years as retreats from the office, a chance to talk face-to-face to colleagues away from a boardroom desk, giving ourselves space to use the outdoors as inspiration in our everyday lives and to boost our creativity by getting out in nature. After an illuminating away day in a horsebox, we hit on an idea. What if other people used our spaces in this way? What if our yurts, treehouses, cabins, Gypsy caravans and Iron Age Roundhouses could be enjoyed by the creative, inspired and inspiring across the UK?

If you had the time, the breathing space, the opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and all of its positive properties could you be one step away from your next big thing? Could your next piece of award winning work be inspired by water? Your next business win be leveraged by a walk in the woods? Your next book, marketing plan, breakthrough or business plan be strategised whilst listening to birdsong?

We've got the evidence to prove nature boosts your creativity and we sent out some folk to test our theories. Read on for the what, the why and the who…

BLUE SKY THINKING

So what is it about nature that has such an effect on creativity? Why do ideas blossom away from the norm and why does getting out in the green stuff really activate the grey stuff?

One argument is that being in nature allows the prefrontal cortex to ‘rest’ – this is the bit of the brain that is stimulated by technology and once taken away from the usual distractions (constantly ringing phones, emails pinging in inboxes etc.) is allowed to take a break. One experiment with a group of hikers in the US found a 50% increase in creative performance after a four to six day immersion in nature (1) but even a simple walk can increase creativity by up to 60% according to Stanford University research. (2) Spending time in nature provides a multi-sensory experience that can provide us with the inspiration, contemplation and relaxation we need for our creativity. Creativity expert Claire Bridges tells us how and why…

CONTEMPLATION:

One of the reasons we have some of our best ideas when we’re daydreaming or not thinking about the problem is down to a process called incubation. Our unconscious mind needs time to noodle away on the challenge and help us make connections. This is the reason that we often have our best ideas in the shower, whilst walking the dog or lounging around in a hammock - when we’re not thinking directly about the problem - our unconscious mind takes time to find patterns and devise solutions.

HOW TO DO IT

1. Feed your brain everything it needs to start digesting the problem; desk-research, insights, questions and discussion then head off and do something else. For example at Coracle the Yurt, a much loved spot in Dorset, you can daydream whilst sipping a cuppa by the lake, learn to whittle in a green woodworking course or head to the sauna yurt before coming back to your challenge. We guarantee you’ll have new insights and ideas when you return to your problem.

2.Shinrin-yoku is Japanese for a practice known as ‘forest bathing’ – the idea is that you head to a forest for its ‘medicine’, to walk slowly and breathe deeply, inhaling all the scents that surround you, perhaps touching the bark of a tree as you pass, or stepping into a stream to feel the water and the ground underneath your feet.

RELAXATION

Alpha waves are the stars of the show when it comes to creativity. They are slower than the brainwaves typical of alert, focused mindset yet faster than the slow waves of deep sleep. Daydreaming, meditation and time out can provide this brain state to foster creative thinking. High levels of stress are not compatible with creative thinking, and produce cortisol – a stress indicator. Just 20 minutes in a natural setting significantly reduces cortisol levels. (3)

HOW TO DO IT

1. The historian Simon Shama has coined us the ‘look down’ generation due to our obsession with our smartphones. Try deliberately ‘looking up’ from your phone. Try some real ‘blue sky thinking’ with The Cloud Appreciation Society. Since creativity is often about getting a fresh perspective, one of my favourite things to do when I’m feeling stuck is to find a patch of grass, lie down and use the clouds as random stimulus. Or take a five-minute breather to get those all-important alpha waves going. Sign up to get a ‘cloud a day’ to your inbox if you’re stuck indoors.

2. Even if you’ve never done it before, find a quiet spot to simply reflect and meditate, proven to aid creative thought (thanks to those alpha waves again). If you are outdoors, find a place that appeals to you where you can just sit and you won’t be easily disturbed for a short while. Get comfortable and warm. You might want to kick off your shoes and socks and rest your back against a nearby tree, perhaps somewhere you can hear a stream babbling nearby.

INSPIRATION

It’s not about waiting for the muse, but seeking out stimulus to help us problem solve. George de Mestral invented Velcro when he noticed that tiny burdock burrs had attached themselves to his dog’s fur via their tiny hooks. Clarence Birdseye (of fish finger fame) was inspired to invent flash freezing when he saw the Inuit tribes fishing in sub-zero conditions. Taking inspiration directly from nature is an emerging science called biomimicry- an approach to innovation that explores solutions to human challenges by emulating what works in nature (4).

HOW TO DO IT

1. Think about how you can use all of your senses to generate ideas. We often think about what we can see but what about smell, taste, touch and sound as ways to generate or improve ideas? Think about what different random stimulus you can forage for in nature for your next brainstorm that engages all of the senses. That faintly scented pinecone, interestingly shaped piece of bark or fallen leaf might just spark an idea. Aristotle considered the ability to think in metaphor a sign of genius. So ask yourself how is this item like my problem? Perhaps you’ve come across a wild rose – so it has thorns, it’s scented, it doesn’t last for long.

So what are the thorny issues you may be ignoring, what could your idea smell or taste like, how could you create a short-lived experience?

2. Take photographs to use as stimuli for your next challenge when you’re outside. Try and find a fresh perspective on something that you might not usually notice or pay attention to. Set yourself a creative theme for your images - perhaps to find a particular shape, colour or texture in nature - or find items on your walk that could somehow relate back to your problem.

TRIED AND TESTED

We gave some eminent and respected creative types the chance to visit one of our spaces to fully immerse themselves in the Canopy & Stars experience. An opportunity to ditch the constraints of the office for a couple of days; relax in the outdoors, be immersed in nature and find inspiration and contemplation. Designers, ad agencies, photographers, app developers, planners, illustrators; from Oscar winning companies to one-man-bands. Leaders in their field, to the next big thing; here’s what they had to say about their experience.

WANT TO WIN YOUR OWN CREATIVE BREAK?

Do you have a creative problem to solve? Do you need the chance to get away from the 9 to 5? Do you want to achieve contemplation, relaxation and inspiration? We’re giving four lucky folk a two-night stay at Puckshipton Ark; a hand built haven nestled in the corner of a Wiltshire farm. Winners will get full use of The Ark, and its sister wagon The Arkette. You can host your morning meeting around the wood burner, work from under the willow tree then take a break to pick some wild strawberries or swim in the outdoor pool. This competition has been extended until 30 October 2017 – good luck folks!

Sign up for the Canopy & Stars newsletter

Our weekly newsletter delivers a burst of green to your inbox. You'll be the first to find out about our hand-picked places to stay, receive some fantastic offers and gain an insight into the inner-workings of the collective Canopy & Stars brain (don't say we didn't warn you).

And, as ever, we promise never to share your details with anyone else.